If you are only interested in victories within the next weks you are totally right. But I also think about the future, and I believe that Novak and Spanoulis can be future key players for our team. What would have happend if Jao had not got enough minutes in his first NBA saison?
Exactly, we need to invest for the future. Good teams have players ready anytime. If you do not play them, you never know.
Comparing Yao to Novak or Span is simply unfair. Players like Carmelo, Lebron, D-Wade, and Yao are a cut above and can form the base of any NBA team...and that's why they were drafted so highly. If you could look me in the eye and tell me (given the current information we have on them) that you can build a franchise centered around Novak or Span, then it's settled that we have a difference of opinion for the time being. Novak and Span will get their time in...and injuries apart, they will continue to develop under JVG's system, whether it's through garbage time or via practice. I think alot of y'all are forgetting the end goal of this Rockets 2006 Team...while getting past the 1st Playoff round or higher would be more than a noteworthy achievement, the end goal for this team is the NBA Championship Crown...this team isn't a team in developmental transition. And one more thing to consider...there was about an 9 man rotation (sans Bonzi) with Rafer-Head, Shane-T-Mac-Snyder, JHow-Hayes, Yao-Deke. I would be mildy surprised if you slid in minutes now for Novak due to Hayes' injury, but if you grant Span minutes at the guard position than you're subtracting minutes off of one your other guards. Say what you want about Rafer, but he's hitting almost 40% of his treys, he's a protypical point guard (although his AS/TO ratio sucks), and he knows JVG's system better. Than you have Head who's currently striking 52% from 3-Point land (he's currently ranked 11th overall in the league in 3-Point %, and if you account for the total number of treys attempted within that Top 11 3-Point Percentage, he's rank #1 with the most attempts in that subgroup). Bottom line: it's in my belief that JVG knows what he has and he'll know when they are really ready, and when to deploy it. I want to see both Span and Novak play and I want to see them both do well. But I believe there's a time and place for them in the future...it's just not right now at this very moment.
Well, I did not claim that Span and Novak will necessarily lead a franchise as James and Yao do. But on the other hand I am absolutely sure that no one could imagine Nash become a back-to-back-MVP according to his performance in his first 5 NBA games. In fact, I see a lot of potential in both players and I insist: Both can become key players for the Rockets in future. I agree with you concerning the aims of our team, but: If we are winning by 20 points in the 4th quarter, why does JVG not bring them for 5 minutes? In the last game Span played 1 min and Novak not at all. This is ridiculou in my eyes! I agree with you that his TO in presaison were unacceptable. But I am sure that in season games he will minimize riskfull passes and that he has learned not to "travel". Besides, I do not want him to take over Rafers job immediately, but come on give him more than one stupid minute, when you are winning by 20! Hope you are right, but maybe you can give me a good example, when JVG managed to successfully promote a young rookie player...
Apparently, Faigen wants Novak to play too! Check out his new blog. A Hard Lesson Go ahead and say it. Or I'll say it for you: Put in Steve Novak. There's some logic there. The Rockets ended the game making 2 of 27 shots. Novak can shoot. Let him launch, right? OK. But one question: Who comes out, Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming? That's the problem with thinking any one thing could have solved the Rockets complete breakdown on Tuesday. They broke down in every way, not just the one that jumped from the stat sheet. They defended well for 2 1/2 quarters, then not at all. And they got the shots they wanted. Yao and McGrady missed them, going a combined 0 for 8 in the fourth quarter. Luther Head, whose 3s helped rout the Heat, missed his three fourth quarter 3s, too. Scott Padgett missed a couple shots late, too late. The funny thing is that the Spurs sort of demonstrated why you don't switch your rotation and don't suddenly take Novak's shot out of mothballs. The Spurs were nearly as awful much of the night as the Rockets were in the final 16 minutes. But they just kept doing what they do, believing what they do. They did not dust off Matt Bonner, himself a pretty fair shooter. They stuck with the same rotations, did the same things. They just did them better. With so many experts screaming that Robert Horry had lost it, that age had finally caught him, and with him looking like it for much of the first two weeks, Gregg Popovich stuck with him and was rewarded. Horry went 3 for 4 for 10 points and helped key the run. Had Horry not come out of it, eventually he would have been replaced in the rotation. If the Rockets continue to lay bricks as they did in the final 16 minutes Tuesday, they will change things, too. And if Novak or someone else that finds his way into the rotation struggles, the Rockets should stick with him until he shows he cannot come out of it. But the idea is not to panic, not to get hit with technical fouls or call timeouts to suggest that players make those wide open shots. That's a college thing. You don't clear your bench, or for that matter, and perhaps more important, you don't change what you do as a player, either. The Spurs demonstrated that vividly. They were the Spurs down 19, and would have been up 19. The Rockets got whacked with that hard lesson.
Personally I don't think there is any logic in playing Vspan or Novak today. Based on Head and Rafer's performance even Bonzi would have a hard chance breaking into the rotation. As mentioned before those guys are shooting high percentage 3PTM. Based on the Miami game they walked all over in the 4th quater, a championship team. Why would you sub them off for Vspan given the last game? If u were JVG and we were up by 17 against a team like San Antonio who are like probably the most experienced team in terms of pressure situations would you sub them on? If you answer yes then maybe thats why your not a coach? I think Novak might be a good case for Padgett. But if i remember correctly he was playing well early in the game(correct me if I am wrong, i'm sick my memory is horrible at the moment). Why would you sub someone off like that who is warmed up and in game rythem for someone who hasn't played for four games? its simple logic. and another thing, who is Novak going to defend in that 4th quater? Give me one person he could have ably defended and i'll buy your idea. Its not JVG's fault people aren't hitting wide open shots. Rookies don't deserve to play if they don't prove themselves in training. How can you people tell if Vspan has fixed his turnover problem? have you been at practice lately? what about Novak? have you seen him defend against someone at an NBA level yet( ie not a preseason intensity) in a 4th quater situation? Blame JVG all you like people, but Rookies will get their time if they prove themselves in practice.
Personally I think the team need Vspan more urgently than Novak. We can see when a team have 2 quick attacking PG like Parker and Udrich, Rafer and Luther would be pushed to the limit defensively and would lose their offensive steam because of it. V-Span's intensity is very much needed by this team. He can bring more energy for our backcourt. Rafer & Luther are solid but not explosive enough in some key moment, just like late 3rd qtr in this game. I really hope Rox can put effort in practice helping V Span grow faster. OTOH, Novak's job can be done by Padget at the moment. I'm sure he will have much better career than Padget later on but at this moment, we could afford to be patient with him. Hope he can realize the situation and put more energy in practice and study the tapes more and eventually take padget's position after ...uh 30 games. Bottom line, I would be very disappointed if don't have both of them in the rotation by the start of next season. I'm as patient as that. period.
Personally I think the team need Vspan more urgently than Novak. We can see when a team have 2 quick attacking PG like Parker and Udrich, Rafer and Luther would be pushed over the limit defensively and would lose their offensive steam because of it. V-Span's intensity is very much needed by this team. He can bring more energy for our backcourt. Rafer & Luther are solid but not explosive enough in some key moment, just like late 3rd qtr in this game. I really hope Rox can put more effort in practice helping V Span grow faster. OTOH, Novak's job can be done by Padget at the moment. I'm sure he will have much better career than Padget later on but at this moment, we could afford to be patient with him. Hope he can realize the situation and put more energy in practice and study the tapes more and eventually take padget's position after ...uh 30 games. Bottom line, I would be very disappointed if JVG don't have both of them in the rotation by the start of next season. I'm as patient as that. period.
With VSpan playing well in the last 2 games, it clearly shows that our fans' judgment that the 2 rookies will contribute if they are put in rotation is halfway correct. Right now the team chemistry is developing well, and the expection for this team to advance deep into the playoff is getting higher, the team must be fully aware that they need to develop a deep bench to match up with those powerhouses in the west. It's true that Rockets are getting more wins but I'm sure a lot of fans here want to see more convincing wins, not neccessarily being the blowout wins like the Mavs and Heat games, but solid wins (means solid performance from beginning to the end and giving the oppornent very little hope to come back). I'm digging this thread back up and I'm hoping more fans will support the idea that Novak should be put into the game for at least 5 minutes. 5 minutes in the 2nd and 3rd quarters should be enough to tell if Novak can contribute. I don't think this will cost the team more losses and destroy the team defence. I still don't think Novak's defence is that horrible until we've seen it. I'm very confident if Novak is given 5 shot attempts on the 3 pointer each game, he will at least score 6 points. And I still think Novak can do more than just shooting the 3 pointers. 6 points from one player can give this team a boost because we are not very smooth offensively right this moment. In conclusion, we don't need Novak to play in the crunch time, we just want to see if he can contribute. I hope JVG can start playing him after Thanksgiving.
ive been waiting all season to see novak play myself. hopefully he gets some time. Hopefully jvg sees improvement enough on novak's defense in practice to where he has confidence to play him. good post.
In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that i'm not a fan of Van Gundy's coaching. I think he's overrated. I think his love of crappy players like Bowen and Padgett and his inability to think outside the box are proof of this. I don't think Van Gundy will ever play Steve Novak unless he's forced to. Perhaps next year when we get a new coach Steve will get a shot.
Funny that you'd say JVG is overrated because I've never seen him rated high by anyone. I think personally he's one of the most underrated coaches in league history. He's done more with less then anyone else. I'll point to that NYK team he took to the finals as a great example. He's my stake in the ground, and you can quote me on this all you JVG-haters. If this team stays healthy and Bonzi gets in shape - we will be the next NBA champions - because injury is the only way any team can stop us now. I see how could this team can be.
i agree with u, 5 mins, what novak need is only 5 minutes, and thats ok, thats enough for the 1st step...
"nba champions"? sounds pretty cool! always looking forward to the crown! "Bonzi gets in shape"..eh..if bonzi gets in shape someday will he still be in houston? what about the new contract? maybe it's jvg's stubbornness makes so many jvg-haters, and thats always a controversial topic, and maybe that topic will never die even until the day rox gets crown for the 3rd time...
Where some see stubborness I see it as consistancy and faith. That's why his players love him. He stays with them. He doesn't give up on them even when they are in a slump. That means a lot to players - look at this team - look how hard everyone plays - look at how much they hustle and how they sacrafice. That's great coaching baby.
